23 February 2016

Romanian president disappoints his fans

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has criticised the tax authorities for demanding that a news channel belonging to imprisoned media mogul Dan Voiculescu vacate its premises. Disappointed that Iohannis is opposing a 2014 court ruling with his stance thousands of his Facebook fans, as well as the press, have turned against him.

The people emancipate themselves on the web

The Romanian people have had enough of corruption and cronyism, political scientist and commentator Ioan Stanomir writes on the blog portal Contributors:

“Not privileges, but equality before the law; not favouritism but transparency in the state administration; not complicity with the oligarchy but the will for change - the presidential election of November 2014 was about all of the above. The reactions we are now seeing in the Internet reflect the people's dismay and moral outrage. ... The people's emancipation from the paternalistic state, and their refusal to sit back and accept perfidiousness and duplicity are signs that an irreversible change is taking place. A new form of solidarity has emerged in the Internet, which is no longer controlled by media groups like Intact. ... Now it is up to Klaus Iohannis to revive the values on which his popular mandate is based.”

President's voters bitterly disappointed

President Iohannis stated on Facebook on Friday that his statement had been misunderstood. But that won't do anything to mitigate the people's anger, journalist Ramona Ursu tells the president in her blog with the daily Adevărul:

“I can still remember the election campaign in 2014, when you received the support of millions of Romanians like me who had had enough of the corruption, the thieves, the lies and the mafia that was trying to seize control of the country. I remember how millions of people were disgusted by the political class and had no incentive whatsoever to go to the polls. Nevertheless they pulled themselves together and went, because they believed that you were the last hope of salvation for their country. And I remember how you promised back then that you would defend the judiciary and the rule of law: the very things that you are now trampling underfoot. ... And as far as my Facebook like for you goes: I've not only unliked you, I'll never like you again.”

Another revolt in the offing

The people of Romania have long taken a critical view of Klaus Iohannis and now see their reservations confirmed, news website Ziare explains:

“Many will point out that the president still has over 1.6 million likes on Facebook. The 46,000 votes he has lost amount to just three percent and 'porridge doesn't explode', right? Wrong. The protests after the fire at the Colectiv nightclub demonstrate the huge potential for a popular revolt. Up to now the Romanians were simply disgusted at their president's passiveness and his focus on his own interests: he had his villa renovated for a million dollars, had his salary tripled, travels the world with his wife - all at the taxpayers' expense. Now that he has said that the law is an 'administrative banality' and negotiable for the sake of finding an 'appropriate solution' the public's perception of him has deteriorated even further.”